Natalie Monzon ‘24, Opinion Editor
Vanderpump Rules is a reality television show that has been on Bravo since 2013. The show revolves around Lisa Vanderpump, a former real housewife, and her restaurant. The lives of waiters and waitresses who work or formerly worked at her restaurant, Sur, are filmed and documented. The staff argue, lie, form love triangles, and get into trouble. The show has always been wildly successful, but more drama and turmoil are in store for viewers in the latest season, because of “Scandoval.”
Season 10 started off seemingly ordinary with the group. There were minor tiffs, but no one imagined the shift the show would take. In the last episode of the season, it is revealed that Tom Sandoval, a main character in the show, cheated on his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, with one of her closest friends, Rachel Leviss. This controversy gave birth to “Scandoval.” This scandal had been going on for months, with only one cast member, Tom Schwartz, aware of what was happening. This story shocked most viewers because of Sandoval’s and Madix’s seemingly healthy relationship portrayed in the show. It was also heartbreaking because, through Leviss’ years on the show, it seemed Madix was her faithful friend and the only one who had her back—the season ended with most of the cast writing off Sandoval and Leviss.
The affair caused significant foot traffic to the show, with millions tuning in. The internet was in an uproar, and people hated Sandoval and campaigned for Madix. After the season ended, many anticipated the arrival of season 11.
When the new season trailer came out, viewers were shocked. Senior Sophie Boback said, “I definitely didn’t expect what was shown in the trailer.” The preview revealed what seemed to be a new cheating scandal, Madix navigating through living the single life, and some of the cast turning against her. Most fans ran to Madix’s defense, saying she deserved all the attention and praise she had received, but something changed when the first episode aired on Jan. 30.
The new season’s first episode starts off with Madix at her house, which she and Sandoval still share and communicate via his assistant. She talks to her best friend Katie Maloney, another cast member, about her experiences in life, what she is leaving behind, and Sandoval’s ideas of what is going to happen with the home they live in. Madix also mentions that Sandoval and Leviss are still in contact with each other. They send postcards to one another while Leviss is in a mental health facility. Viewers believed no one was in contact with Leviss except Sandoval until Lala Kent dropped a bombshell, she wanted and had contacted Leviss.
Kent is also a main character in the show and has always been “Team Ariana,” but Leviss’ situation hit somewhat close to home for her. Kent’s ex-fiance Randell Emmet was still married when they met and allegedly started dating. Kent shared with Vanderpump that she was worried for Leviss and knew what it was like to be publicly shamed. Kent decided to text Leviss and offered to sit down with her and speak. It is still unknown if she answered. Madix took this information relatively well and saw where Kent was coming from.
Most of the cast in this episode share their opinion on Sandoval, how they have navigated through the scandal, and how their lives are currently going, but only one person is missing from this equation: the man himself.
The episode ends with Sandoval returning home after spending months on a survival show called Special Forces. After the episode aired, fans seemed to switch up on Madix and called her attention-seeking; others said they were sick of this storyline. Senior Emily Savage said, “Viewers switch too quickly on people who don’t deserve it.” No matter what the opinions of this new season were, the teasers and cast guaranteed that this season would be different than any other and that viewers would be thoroughly surprised by what is to come. Tune in on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. on Bravo for new episodes.
Lyon Life 